Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border are down by 54% from the highest numbers reported in December, according to internal Border Patrol reports.
That is good news. Nothing like an election year to focus attention on important issues, right? So far, the month of May is looking pretty good.
During the first 21 days of May, U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded a daily average of approximately 3,700 apprehensions of migrants between official ports of entry. That represents a 54% decrease from the 8,000 daily average in December when illegal entries soared to a quarter of a million, an all-time high.
May is also on track to see the third consecutive month-over-month drop in unlawful border crossings, the preliminary U.S. Department of Homeland Security statistics show. In March and April, illegal crossings along the southern border dropped to 137,000 and 129,000, respectively, according to public government data. If the trend continues, Border Patrol is on pace to record between 110,000 and 120,000 apprehensions in May.
That is still an unacceptable level of illegal aliens crossing the southern border but improvement is better than an increase. Month after month the level of illegal immigration has increased as President Biden shows a dereliction of duty in securing the border and protecting the homeland. Sovereign countries have secure borders.
These numbers do not include those who are processed at official border crossings. The Biden administration admits about 1,500 asylum-seekers daily. We can discuss that number but I’ll take those who are coming through legal ports of entry any day over those who are invading the southern border outside of legal ports of entry. At least there is a chance that the migrants are being properly vetted and processed. Is it too much to hope that those who don’t qualify for legal entry into the United States are turned back? Yeah, probably, with this administration.
The Biden administration gives credit, at least partial credit, to the Mexican government for its aggressive crackdown on migrants moving toward the U.S. border. Secretary of State Blinken and DHS Secretary Mayorkas went to Mexico to plead for some cooperation from Mexican officials. They sweetened the deal with financial incentives.
Mayorkas cited a “number of actions that we have taken, not only strengthening our enforcement, not only attacking the smugglers but also building lawful pathways that enable people who qualify for relief to reach the United States in a safe, orderly and legal way.”
I’m skeptical of any words coming out of the mouth of Mayorkas. His tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security has been one of incompetence and avoiding doing what must be done to secure the southern border. He, like Biden, has been derelict in his top duty – to secure the borders and protect the homeland. The open southern border is intentional. Everyone knows that. The migrants coming here certainly know that Biden’s policy is open borders. Mayorkas carries out Biden’s policies.
The truth is that the Biden border crisis is so bad now that it is a reason Biden may lose the presidential election in November. Border security and illegal immigration rank at the top of the list of issues most important to voters. It is right up there with the economy.
Biden is slowly adopting some of former President Trump’s actions to secure the southern border. Winken Blinken and Mayorkas appealed to Mexican officials to work toward keeping migrants from crossing the U.S. border, including reviving a Remain in Mexico policy.
The Biden administration and its partners in the media ignore the contributions from Governor Abbott in Texas. The Biden administration would have to swallow its pride to admit Abbott’s work is producing results. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 to secure the Texas border with Mexico. Texas taxpayers have paid billions of dollars to keep Operation Lone Star going. The Biden administration keeps suing Texas to stop what the state is doing. Yet, Biden refuses to provide the personnel and resources that border states need.
Operation Lone Star’s actions include building a border wall – Texas is the only state to build a border wall. Border security measures include installing razor wire along the border, moveable barrier buoys in the Rio Grande River, and moving DPS personnel to the border. Texas National Guard and troops from other red states are included in working to secure the Texas border. Abbott is doing everything possible to secure the Texas border. He is doing Biden’s job, which Biden refuses to do.
The human smugglers have moved their operations further west as Texas tightens up. The San Diego sector is feeling the most pain now, along with the Tucson sector. The cartels are not stupid. They re-group and act according to where opportunities present themselves. California and Arizona have Democrat governors who show little interest in border security.
Biden is considering tinkering around with the asylum process as election day grows near. He wants to pretend to be paying attention to the mess he deliberately made now that he is being held accountable, even by some Democrats in districts Trump won in 2020. Voters remember that Trump was strong in border security.
All Biden has to do is sign executive orders that undo the damage he did on his first day in office and bring back the Trump border policies and agreements. He won’t but he will pretend to be doing something until the election in November.
We’ll see how the numbers shake out at the end of the month. Look for Team Biden to take all the credit.